Notes for FABF15 (Simple Simpson)

I knew before watching "Simple Simpson" that it was going to be pretty good or horribly bad, and I'm happy to see that it's the former. Though perhaps not your everyday plot, it makes sense and is developed somewhat interestingly. Concerning the small stuff, there were a few downsides (the mashes potatoes gag, the gross bullet extraction by knife, the flying Dalai Lama), but in general it was funny and enjoyable to watch. I also liked the brief Homer/Lisa bonding moment (reminiscent of 3F17). So far season 15 has been lots of fun; I hope it keeps up for the last 3 episodes. A-

DYN: ...the couch gag was appropriate, given the plot? ...a readout behind Homer at the plant looks like "7657" or "7G57"? (The idea here is the 7G, but I can't tell if that was intentional) ...how suspenseful the end of act II as it cut to commercial really wasn't? ...Burns recongizes Homer instantly?

Previous episode references 2F05: An island is really a peninsula (a good end to the otherwise obvious gag) 9F02: Vaseline on teeth to influence judges 8F22, CABF08: Crappy comics seen CABF09: Homer stands up for people in his own way DABF03: Police collecting and getting rid of sweets 5F07, CABF15: Patches and Poor Violet show up CABF04: Working extra for Burns, and in ways similar to the "prank monkey" job 8F17: Burns apparently never got a guard dog who could detect a Girl Scout peddling cookies?

Other references Futurama (The Luck of the Fryrish, 3ACV04): "bacon-fed bacon" reminded me of the horse-fed horse burgers (for that double-horse juiced-in goodness) Spiderman (the recent movie), Batman: duh

Goofs (I think) -When Homer shut the drawer with the pie, it didn't seem to move backward. -The only reason people came was to watch the Dalai Lama get pied... how would they know to expect that, or am I missing something?

Meta-reference corner Bart's comment about what to expect from signing a contract with Fox seems to be in response to the recently-resolved cast salary dispute.

Other stuff -Homer's brief search for a golden ticket (and a recent thread on alt.tv.futurama) reminds me that The Simpsons have managed to avoid an extended Wonka parody...not that every show has to do one, or that we necessarily want it, but it's still kinda interesting. -Not to spend a whole lot of energy on it, but the episode offers a slight explanation for one facet of Springfield's general idiocy: since Homer is not seen as able to serve as Pie Man, maybe they were in denial or something. (On the other hand, as Marge said, "you'd have to be an idiot not to see it from the start!") Also, whether it was intentional or not, did anyone notice that the title, besides being a pie-related pun, hinted at this?

Finally Did anyone else hear what sounded like an abrupt cut after the "Coke with lemon" line?

"Matt Garvey" wrote in message news:[email]...

It's a joke.

Duff Man wrote:

Oh, I get it... I get jokes!

In article , Matt Garvey wrote:

"Green Acres" One of the handlers in the pig contest was obviously Fred Ziffel..which would make the pig Arnold.

I was thinking that the pies talking to Homer might've also been a reference to the episode in which Homer had an idea for a movie with a talking pie.

[email] (GenericName98) wrote in message news:...

DYN: One of the pies was the voice of Agnes Skinner and another pie (with cigar) was almost Moe?

That's my only gripe about the voice acting/casting. I would rather that they pull some guy off of the street to do a pie voice, for the sake of difference.

Remember the ep about the elf-like horse jockeys underground; they did a musical part where a couple of the jockey-elf voices clearly sounded like Lisa and also another regular character voice (I think it was similar to Moe).

"888eight888" wrote in message news:[email]...

news:...

reference to

I'll bet there are union rules against that.

Oy! Listen to That Guy's latest shpiel!

Consarnit! I've had it up to here with those damned pie unions!

"mark allen adams, jr." wrote in message news:ceBlc.146821$[email]...

The entire steel industry is gay.

"888eight888" wrote in message news:[email]...

news:...

reference to

It could be that those were just the voices Homer's mind associated with the pies...

[email] (GenericName98) wrote in message news:...

[5F19] (When You Dish Upon a Star) talking pies are mentioned

Matt Garvey wrote:

Kent Brockman had been speculating about whether Pieman would strike at the DL's speech, presumably to entice Pieman to make an appearance (and be caught by the police). So anyone who watched the news would have thought that a pie attack on the DL was a possibility.

"Brett A. Pasternack" wrote in message news:...

No, that was the cosmetic center. Whoever said it was a joke was right (note how _no one_ applauded when he entered/exited).

Matt Garvey wrote in message news:...

I'm surprised more people didn't pick up on that line.

I find it hard to believe it's in direct response to the salary dispute given the production delay the Simpsons have. However, I thought it was really funny. The Simpsons seemingly luck out with the timing of their jokes sometimes.

Or maybe they're somehow pulling a South Park (read: topical humor). . . Nah.

trialofmiles wrote:

I figured it was either a random jab at Fox or they were able to work it in to the existing PII segment. I believe with the new animation coloring methods, and whatever else they might have changed, throwing in something quick like that wouldn't take as much time; if the cast had no problem with the writers/showrunners, they could have agreed to a line like that after the dispute began but before it was resolved.

In alt.tv.simpsons, on the "Notes for FABF15 (Simple Simpson)" thread, Matt Garvey wrote:

It also reminded me of mad cow disease, of all things. Apparently, one of the ways it spreads is through the practice of feeding one generation of leftover meat to the next generation's animals.

Yeah, I noticed *something* seemed hinky with the sound.